La Tortue Loop – Lake Kipawa Area

Submitted by admin on Tue, 11/17/2009 - 14:20
Canada›Quebec›04 Ottawa
Submitter & Author Information
Route submitted by: 
Admin
Trip Date : 
Route Author: 
Unknown
Additional Route Information
Distance: 
50 km
Duration: 
3 days
Loop Trip: 
Yes
Portage Information
No. of portages: 
0
Total Portage Distance: 
0 m
Longest Portage: 
0 m
Difficulty Ratings
River Travel: 
Not applicable
Lake Travel: 
Intermediate
Portaging: 
Not applicable
Remoteness: 
Novice
Background Trip Info
Water Levels: 
Route Description
Technical Guide: 

Access is from the town of Temiscaming, then east 14 km to the village of Kipawa.

Just before the village, turn south on paved road (paved for a couple of kms) onto major logging road that veers east. (Pull to side of road when you see a logging truck, either direction.) Follow until km marker 32 and turn left to Mungo Bay (0.75 km).

Access point and parking is at Mungo Bay (aka Le Campe-Quatre on the topo). Camping sites are islands on the opposite shore or across from Rocher Grindstone.

Paddle west on Lac Grindstone, through Butney Channel and into Lac Bedout.

Paddle north to Lac Audoin. Camping sites are on the east side of La Tortue.

On the north end of La Tortue, paddle west towards Portage Turtle. There is no longer a portage as a channel has been blasted.

Paddle south on Lac Sunnyside towards Hunters Pass. Campsites can be found among the islands.

Head southeast in Lac Hunter towards Edwards Pass and then east into Lac Bedout. There are several campsites on the islands.

Back through Butney Channel and continue east to Lac Grindstone and Mungo Bay.

Trip Journal/Log/Report/Diary: 

This loop trip was done in late August 2001. We were two families with two children each. All campsites easily accommodated two large tents. We usually spent a couple of days at choice campsites and did short day trips to explore the area and bays. Some campsites were blessed with sand beaches. During our tripping, we only encountered two other canoeists.

The lack of portaging makes this a very relaxing route.

The difficulty comes from the facts that there are no marked campsites, campsites are limited, route information is limited to local knowledge and topographical skills, and the information and names on the topos do not agree with the signage or local nomenclature.

Because some lakes have been flooded to create this reservoir, the shoreline can be rough which is typical for reservoir lakes.

Overall, we saw plenty of wildlife, the landscape is similar to Temagami, there are few people, and there are no fees.Milan Egrmajer

Maps Required
Topo Maps (1:50,000): 
31 L/15 Lac Grindstone
Other
Special Comments: 

The route duration can easily be extended to take advantage of a number of side trips or additional loops. The lakes can get very windy and make canoeing treacherous. Pickerel fishing is fair to good in most waters. There are some cottages and lodges but most campsites are isolated from them. There is very little traffic during most of the season.
If you modify your route to include waters within one of the ZECs, you are required to register your trip. There is a staffed trailer on the logging road towards the access point to get more info.

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